With the NFL’s Aug. 30 cutdown day closing in, a handful of veterans are staring at a shaky finish to camp. Some are expensive.
Some have been pushed down the depth chart. Others are simply running out of time to prove they still fit.
James Conner is one of the clearest names in the mix. Arizona added third overall pick Jeremiyah Love and free agent Tyler Allgeier, and that alone makes the 31-year-old back look vulnerable.
Conner was a productive lead runner for the Cardinals from 2021-24, but a foot injury wiped out most of his 2025 season. Love’s ankle sprain in the preseason opener could help Conner hang around a little longer, yet the Cardinals may still lean toward distributing carries between Allgeier and 24-year-old Trey Benson.
Kayshon Boutte also finds himself in a tougher spot than he did a year ago. New England traded for A.J.
Brown and signed Romeo Doubs, which immediately squeezed Boutte’s standing on the depth chart. Still, he put together a solid 2025, averaging 16.7 yards per catch, scoring six touchdowns and clearing 500 yards for the second straight season.
He’s in the final year of his rookie deal, and there’s been no sign the Patriots are ready to talk extension.
The Giants have another veteran who could be squeezed out by the numbers game: Kayvon Thibodeaux. He’s on his fifth-year option and set to become a free agent in 2027, but New York’s decision to take Arvell Reese fifth overall changed the picture.
Reese can line up at linebacker or edge behind Brian Burns and Abdul Carter, which leaves Thibodeaux looking like a pricey rotational rusher with a $14.7 million cap hit. He’s still only 25 and was once a top-five pick himself, but durability has been an issue, and he has topped six sacks only once, with 11.5 in 2023.
At quarterback, Dillon Gabriel’s path in Cleveland looks especially murky. Todd Monken’s plans apparently don’t include him, while Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders fight for the Browns’ top job. Gabriel completed 58.9% of his passes in 2025, throwing six touchdowns and two interceptions across six starts.
Chicago may be ready to turn the page on Cole Kmet. The Bears added 2025 first-round pick Colston Loveland as their new No. 1 tight end and used a third-round pick on Sam Roush in April.
They also restructured Kmet’s deal, trimming his 2026 cap hit to $7.7 million before it jumps to double that in 2027, the final year of his contract, with no guaranteed money. Kmet is 27 and still offers appeal to teams looking for tight end help, but he finished below 400 receiving yards last season for the first time since his rookie year.
Odell Beckham Jr. entered camp with long-shot written all over him, and the early signs haven’t helped. He showed up on the Giants’ first unofficial depth chart as a third-stringer, and while he’s flashed in practice, his preseason opener was quiet: two catches for six yards.
Beckham is now 33 and hasn’t been a difference-maker since his second ACL tear in Super Bowl LVI more than four years ago. He’ll need a big preseason finish to force his way onto the roster.
In Buffalo, Keon Coleman’s hold on a roster spot looks shaky unless he can beat out Joshua Palmer for the No. 3 receiver job. A recent foot injury doesn’t help his case.
Coleman’s first two seasons were marked by inconsistency, and he has just 960 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in 23 career games. New Bills coach Joe Brady said in January that Coleman would have a role, but that promise will mean little if the preseason doesn’t back it up.
Keisean Nixon is another name worth watching, even if his situation feels a little different. He finished 2025 as Green Bay’s top corner, but in camp he’s been bouncing between the starters and backups and has described that as a “punishment.”
Matt LaFleur pushed back by saying Nixon is competing for a job like everyone else, though the setup still feels off. Nixon is in a contract year, and a trade would make more sense than a demotion if the situation keeps heading this way.
Anthony Richardson’s future in Indianapolis appears all but finished; the only real question is how it ends. The former No. 4 overall pick still has the arm strength and athleticism that could tempt another team, but he has never turned those tools into real production, dating back to Florida.
There’s always a market for former first-round quarterbacks, so he should land somewhere. It would just take something unusual for him to take another regular-season snap for the Colts.
Xavier Legette rounds out the list, and his grip on a role in Carolina doesn’t look safe either. The Panthers could upgrade over him from within, with Jimmy Horn Jr., Ja'seem Reed and John Metchie all in the mix.
Horn produced about one-third of Legette’s output last season while playing 341 fewer pass snaps. Carolina could also look outside the building, where names such as Tyreek Hill, Brandin Cooks and Curtis Samuel are available depending on health and roster movement.
Legette is currently penciled in as the Panthers’ No. 3 receiver and was a first-round pick, but that still doesn’t make him secure.
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Loves workload was already drawing attention when the ankle issue surfaced late in his final offensive snap, and now the bigger question is how much time he may miss as the regular season approaches. The Cardinals want him ready by Week 1, but the episode has turned a routine preseason evaluation into a test of patience, caution and how much risk the team is willing to take with one of its most closely watched young players. [Read more 🡒]